Exercising device for infants



Jan. 9, 1940. HENRY 2,186,543

. EXERCISING DEVICE FOR INFANTS 4 Filed Oct. 5, 193a 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 9, 1940. E. e. HENRY EXERCISING DEVICE-FOR INFANTS Filed Oct. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 9, 1940 EXERCISING mzvlcnron mFAN'rs- Earle Gray Henry,'(lhicago, Ill.

Application October 1938, Serial No. 233,459

. Claims. (01. era-3s) My invention relates'to exercising apparatus and,,m'ore particularly, to a' foot operated riding device for infants.

v and purposeful kicking movements long before they develop any comparable control of their hands. The primary object of my invention,

therefore, is to provide a device which will be an'atural outlet for an infants foot and leg energy and which will also give him pleasant movement, a changing view forhis eyes and, most important, the'feeling of achievement. To attainthis object, I providejin'the preferred form of my invention, a receptacle so mounted as to be'easily revolvable around a bearing and wherein an'infant may lie comfortably, on his back and with his feet free to kick. Mounted on the device, above the path of the movable receptacle and within reach of the infants feet, is'a series of "stationary treads against which he may suecessively kick and, by reaction, propel himself and the receptacle aroundthe bearing.

The treads consist, preferably, of round, horizontal rods which are within reach of the babys hands as well as his feet and which'he may'grasp and use, in'various ways, for upper limb exercise.

However," since sitting erect would be harmful to a very young infant and would prevent the in tended use of this preferred'form of the device,

an importantsecondary object of my invention is to' frustrateany attempt the infant may 'maketo pull his body upright by grasping the treads- Another'important object of the invention is so to join the parts together that the device may be'rea'dily folded or disassembled, when not in 85 use, and thus occupy'but littlespace.

Other features-of the device which are especially useful will be made clear 'in the following description and in the accompanying drawings,

wherein like parts have been similarly designated 40 and in which;

Figure 1 is a plan view of the device as'it ap-' pears when ready to receive an infant:

FigurelZ is a perspective-'view'of ne of the.

treads 'with-attachedparts. j M l I 45 Figure 3 is a sectional jeleva on of the device with certainduplicate parts omitted, for clarity. Figure 4' isa bottom plan view of the tread supporting structure omitted.

50 Figure 5 is a perspective view'ofapart "of the tread supporting structure.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a'spacer'for vertical adjustment 'of'thedevice. I g

, Receptacle Lin which the'infantridesyis ad 55' justably mounted on sweep l, which is rotatably Many infants make strong 'th certain duplicate parts plate 4. Peg 5 fits closely but not ti'ghtly in tube" 6 which is-immovably fixed in a hole in sweep I.

The conical heads of the'two pegs 8 B'engage, H by gravity, two. of theconical depressions 9 9 in plate '4, so that moderate force is required to' rotat'e the receptacle'about peg 5, out of the en-v gagedpo'sitions shown in Figures 1' and 3. 3 Tubelll, which is immovablyfixed in a hole in the sweep, acts as a rotationalbea-ring on shaft l l'; 9

plate 'l5,which issecurely joined to the under side of the sweep, rests onone of the legs l4 l4, forming a vertical bearing.- I When the device isresting on a floor and properly balanced, safetyfoot 11, which is securely joined to sweep I, andcounterweight 26 clear the floor'by a short distance, as'indicated in Figure 3,

allowing the sweep'to turn freely. Whenever the infantor counterweight has been removed, or the counterweight-is improperly placed, so'that the 30 device" is greatlyunbalanced, it will tilt slightly,

1 bringing either thesafety foot or the 'counterweight into contact with the floor, but will not overturn; I

Hub l8icomprises allower disc l9, an upper disc ZO-and a'plurality of box-like connecting pieces 2| 2|, all rigidly'joined together, as shown.

Bars 23 23, on each" connecting piece, extend downward through'slots "24 in the lower disc and are bent into permanent engagement there- 40 with. Lower disc l9 may be allowed to rest edirectly on shoulders I3 l3, or spacers of-various lengths, similar tospace'rifi, may be placed on shaft H, for vertical adjustment o f hub 18. With this construction, it isfimpossible for hub l8, with its attached treads 22 22,' slide downward. on the shaft, so as to press uponand injure an infant occupying receptacle I. I v j Each of the treads 22 22 is circular incross sec'tion except for a portion of its inner or I mountingend which is rectangular in cross sec-' tion and which containsa vertical slot*2|',a

tightly' driven pin 28"whose ends project some what.and a?tightly driven pin 29- whose ends" are bly joined, by means of its pin 29, to a'link 3B which has holes 3| 3! in its ends. Each link is also joined to a tension resisting spring 32 which has hooks 33 33 formed in its ends.

In joining one of the spoke-like treads 22 22,,

projecting ends of pin 28 are brought into engagement with slots 33 38, fitting closelybut not {tight ly therein. Spring 32 is then stretched and the hook 33 at its free end is passed over one of the cars- 39 39 on ring 40 which is securely joined to I lower disc 19. Spring 32 then exerts a continuous inward and downward pull on the inner end ofits tread, thrcughits link 35, thereby maintainingthejtread in its horizontal or operating position and returning it thereto whenever the outer end of the treadis temporarilydepressed.

"An outward, horizontal pull on one of the treads stretches its spring and releases'the ends of its pin 28 from their engagement with slots 38v 38, after which the tread may be raised into its upright or folded position, its spring 32, with associated parts, acting as a hinge for the tread. Excessive outward movement of the tread, tending to over-stretch and damage its spring, is prevented by the hook 33 which, being joined, crosswise, to its link 30, is unable to enter slot 31. When one of the upright treads istilted slightly, inwardly or outwardly, from its upright position, its spring is stretched and, by reaction,

returns the tread, when released, toits upright position. v ;When an infant is to use the device, several of the treads which are directly above receptacle l are raised into theirupright positions and the receptacle is rotated, about its supporting peg 5, into the position shown by full lines in Figure 1, where it will remain because of the engagement of pegs 8 8 with two of the depressions 9 9 in plate 4. The infant is then placed in the re-. ceptacle, lying on his back on any suitable pad and with his feet directed toward the foot end 3 of the-receptacle. V For very young infants, rim 2 is the only necessary safeguard against falls. For older, more active babies, a suitable safety strap or harness may be necessary.

Each of the upright treads is then pulled down into its horizontalposition. .When a tread is part way down, as indicated by broken lines in Figure 3, the projecting-ends of its pin 28 come into contact with the curved edges 4| 4!, and farther motion results in a cam-like action which draws the tread outward, stretching its spring. Still farther downward motion allows the spring to pull the ends of pin..28 into their former engagement with slots 38 38. With all of the. treads in their operating positions, the infant finds at leastone tread within reach of his feet and aligned approximately at right angles to his direction 01' kicking, at every position into which receptacle i may be revolved around shaft H and, .by his natural kicking movements, he is ableto propel himself and-the receptacle in a clockwise direction around shaft ll. A second operating position for receptacle i, adap ted for counter-clockwise motion, and a folded position, are shown by broken line sfin i u al, Addit nal dsn es ieesfl f r was:

taining the receptacle in these supplementary positions, are provided. Alternate use of the two operating positions insures symmetrical body development for the infant.

Each of the treads 22 22, in its operating position and because of its engagement with recess 34 and the engagement of its pin 28 with slots 38 38, is strongly resistant to upward thrusts and horizontal thrusts and pulls from the feet and hands of an infant riding in receptacle I. When, however,'the infant pulls downward on oneof thetreads, it swings readily about its pin 28, oifering but little spring or frictional resistance to his pull and, hence, no temptation to pull-himself into an upright position.

When it is desired to remove the infant from the receptacle, several of the treads are elevated into their upright positions, in the manner previously described. With all of the treads so ele- 1 vated, or folded, and with receptacle I rotated into its folded position, parallel to sweep l, the device occupies but little space and may, for example, be pushed against a wall, but of the Way. ljhe device may be readily disassembled, simply" by lifting off hub IS with its attached parts, spacer 2 6, receptacle i, counterweight I6 and sweep Lin the order named,

My invention'may be embodied in many forms differing in various details from the preferred form which I have described and portrayed herein. For example, the receptacle might be adapted for holding-an infant lying in a sloping 'position,'on his side or even facing downwardly, and the treads could be positioned accordingly. By making suitable changes in the mechanism, the path of the receptacle could be changed from a'horizontal circle into more complex forms, pos-' sibly more pleasing to the infant.

The treads need not be mounted in the rigidly stationary manner which'I have shown and de-- stz'ribed. 'It is only necessary that the'receptacle and the treads be relatively so mounted that the treads may come successively within reach of the feet of an infant lying in and riding in the receptacle, and that kicking movements of the infant,'against the treads, result in circuitous travel of the receptacle.

What I claim as my invention is:

\ 1. In 'an exercising and riding device for infants, the combination of a receptacle adapted for holding an infant, in, an upward facing and approximately horizontal position and a series of stationarytreads, said receptacle being easily propellable along a definite circuitous path and said treads beingdistribu'ted along and above said path.f

'2, In an exercising and riding device for infants, the combination of a centrally positioned along a definite circuitous path, saidtreads being distributed along and above the path of said receptacle and said treads being easily movable downward but relatively diificult to move in other directions. p,"

4. In an exercising andriding device for infants, the combination of a hub, a spoke like tread and a spring, said tread having one of its ends flexibly joined to said hub and being readily movable into a definite upright position and into a definite position which is approximately horizontal, and said spring being adapted for returning said tread to its upright tread 'is slightly displaced therefrom and for returning said tread to its horizontal position when said tread is displaced downward therefrom.

5. Inan exercising and riding device for infants, the combination of a hub-and a spokeeasily flexible downward like tread flexibly joined to said'hub by a link and a spring, said link being movable in a narrow slot and being'pro-vided, at one of its ends;

with a stop for preventing excessive stressing of approximately horizontal position, a hub and a series of spoke-like treads, each of "said treads projecting approximately horizontally from said hub and being sohinged to said hub as to be in other directions, and saidreceptacle being so mounted as to be easily propellablealong a definite, circuitous and approximately horizontal path below said treads. a

8. In an exercising and'riding device for infants, the combination of a series of stationary treads, a receptaclemounted in said device and means for guiding said receptacle along adefinite circuitous path, said receptacle being adapted for carrying an infant lying downtherein and" position when said but relatively inflexible with his feet free to kick and .being easily movable along'said path, said treads having surfaces adapted for receiving approximately horizontal kicks and thrusts from the feet of the infant so carried in said receptacle, and said treads being so positioned in said device'as to be successively within reach of the feet of the infant so carried in said receptacle when said receptacle is propelled along said path., v

9. In an exercising and riding device for infants, the combination of a series of treads, a receptacle-mounted in said device, said treads and said receptacle being easily movable-relative to each other, means for guiding said receptacle along a definite circuitous path and means for converting relative movement of said treads and said receptacle into travel of said receptacle along said path, said receptaclerbeing adapted forcarrying an infant lying down therein and with his feet free to kick, said treads having surfaces adapted for receiving approximately horizontal kicks and thrusts fromtlie feet of the infant so carried in said receptacle, and said treads being so mounted in said-device as to be successively within reach of the feet of the infant so carried in said receptacle when said infant kicks against said treads. V 10. In an exercising and riding device for in fants, the combination of a series of treads, a

receptacle -mounted in said device, said treads and said receptacle being easily movable relative to each other, means for guiding said receptacle along a definite circuitous path and means for converting relative movement ofsaid treads and I said receptacle into travel of said receptacle along said path,said receptacle being adapted for carrying an infant in an upward facing and approximately horizontal position and with his feet free to kick, and said treads being so mounted in said device as to be successively within reach of the feet of the infant so carried in said receptacle and above the level of his back when said infant kicks against said treads. m ,EARLE GRAY HENRY. 

